


Clowning Around

by orphan_account



Series: College AU [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Hate Speech, Love Confessions, M/M, No Incest, Threats of Violence, fluffier than it sounds, foster brothers - Freeform, possible triggers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-28
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-08-18 07:36:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8154259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Jon receives a threatening video. Robb is there to comfort him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Possible triggers in that the threats in the video are a little graphic. I mean, if you're able to read ASOIAF and/or watch GoT, you're probably fine, but there you go.

Jon didn’t know what it was about clowns, but they creeped him out. There was no reason for it, really. He hadn’t had a traumatic experience as a kid, never even saw a clip of that creepy movie _It_. To be honest, he wasn’t even sure if he had ever really _seen_ a clown in person until a couple of years ago, despite his… thing… with clowns having existed way before then.

He called it a thing because he refused to call it a phobia. It might _be_ a phobia, but he still refused to call it that.

So really, it wasn’t the fact that someone made a video threatening the LGBTQ community on campus. It was the fact that they did so while dressed as fucking _clowns_ that freaked Jon the fuck out.

He couldn’t help but wish that he had a roommate as he sat alone in his apartment, every light turned on with the blinds closed tightly on every window. It was too early to even attempt to sleep, not that he’d be able to with the picture of clowns with painted-on sinister smiles and sharp objects in their hands racing through his mind.

Many of the students who frequented the LGBTQ Center were staying with each other until the threat was fully investigated, but Jon really wasn’t that close to any of the people there.

Which really was a sad statement of his life, wasn’t it? The one place where a skinny gay kid trying to figure out his place in the world was _supposed_ to belong, and he didn’t fit in.

Sure, he had friends that he could call, tell them how afraid he was, and they would either invite him over or come crash with him in an instant. The video had been e-mailed to all the students on the LGBTQ listserv, and the administration was keeping it quiet as they investigated so it wasn’t public knowledge yet. 

Ygritte and Val would probably punch him if they found out he had got a threatening e-mail and didn’t tell them. Sam would wring his hands if he ever found out and probably be more afraid than Jon, but he would keep him company nonetheless. Tormund would loudly declare that he wouldn’t let anyone touch Jon while Grenn and Pyp made jokes to distract him.

His friends would want to know. _Robb_ would want to know…

No, he wouldn’t think about Robb now. Even if Robb was the first person he had wanted to see after he watched the video. They weren’t kids anymore. He couldn’t sneak into his foster brother’s bed when he was scared now.

Still, Jon knew that he could go to any of them if he wanted, and they wouldn’t turn him away. But what if some psychopathic clown _were_ out to get him? What if one of his friends got hurt because _he_ was with them?

He couldn’t ask someone to take that kind of risk for him.

Instead, he would just stay put in his apartment all weekend and binge watch something on Netflix. Something light and funny with absolutely no fucking clowns.

He turned on _The Office_ and popped a frozen pizza into the oven. He wasn’t exactly hungry, but knew he’d only make things worse by not taking care of himself. Besides, if Cat, his foster mother, heard that he wasn’t eating, he knew he’d be scolded within an inch of his life. She already fussed about him being too skinny.

It was nearly midnight, and he was about halfway through the second season, when a knock on the door nearly caused his heart to stop.

He froze in fear, staring at the door as if it would burst open at any moment to reveal a murderous clown. His fingers dug into the couch cushions as his heart beat heavily in his chest. He didn’t even realize he was holding his breath until another knock came along with a familiar voice calling out, “Jon? Are you in there? It’s Robb!”

He nearly passed out in relief as he released the breath he was holding. It took him a moment longer to get to his feet, but he hurried over to the door as soon as he could, unlocking the deadbolt and the chain and wrenching it open to reveal Robb on his doormat.

Jon knew he had to look awful because concern flooded his foster brother’s blue eyes before he was pulling Jon into a tight embrace. Jon let himself fall into Robb, clinging to him as if his life depended on it.

“You should have called me,” Robb told him gently as he maneuvered them into the apartment while still keeping a tight hold on him. “Jon, the things they _said_ …”

He shuddered as he buried his face in Robb’s shoulder, trying to block out the words that had been haunting him since he saw the video that morning.

_Skin every twink alive._

_Gag you on your on entrails._

_Rape you fucking faggots with rusty pipes._

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the threats. They were just words. They couldn’t hurt him. They were just some insecure assholes trying to get attention. He couldn’t let them get to him.

“How’d you find out?” he asked in a small voice as Robb lowered them both onto the couch, Jon almost in his lap with neither of them willing to let go just yet.

“Theon’s sister got the video, too,” he replied. “She showed it to him, and he showed it to me knowing you’d probably gotten it too.”

Theon was a foster kid who had stayed with the Starks for his last couple of years of high school, and was two years older than Robb and Jon. He and Jon hadn’t really gotten close, with Theon reminding Jon a little too much of his alcoholic father through no fault of his own, but Robb and he had been pretty good friends. So much so that they had gotten an apartment together when Robb started college. 

Jon had been jealous of that, of course, but it wasn’t like they had excluded him. His scholarship had required him to stay on campus for his freshman year, and he had been the one to turn down their offer to get a bigger apartment for the three of them his sophomore year.

By that point he had realized that his strong feelings for Robb strayed far left of brotherly and into romantic territory, and he hadn’t wanted to complicate their relationship by living in the same space.

“I’m scared, Robb,” he confessed softly, feeling like a complete coward.

“Fuck, Jon, I’d be worried if you _weren’t_ ,” Robb replied, holding him even tighter if that were possible. “I’m scared _for_ you,” he admitted. “Will you let me stay the weekend? Or come over to our place? Whatever makes you more comfortable, but please, let me stay with you.”

Jon choked on a sob at that. “I can’t let you do that,” he said thickly, shaking his head. “What if… what if someone does attack? I can’t let you get hurt because of me.”

“No, not because of you,” Robb growled. “Because some homophobic assholes want an excuse to be sadistic shits. Well, if they come for you, they’re gonna get me too. Two gays for the price of one.”

He jerked back at that to stare at Robb in horror and confusion. Horror at the idea of these psychopaths hurting _Robb_ , and confusion at the two-gays comment. “Two?” he asked, focusing on the confusion. He had thought enough about the terror and horror looming over them for one night, and he was likely to think about it some more, but this line of inquiry was at least a little distracting.

“Yeah,” Robb admitted sheepishly, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck nervously. “Sorry, I never told you. I didn’t want to make things awkward.”

“I’ve been out since the seventh grade,” Jon pointed out, still hopelessly lost. “How would _you_ coming out to me make things awkward?”

“Well, I… do we have to talk about this now?” he asked in a pleading voice. “Some fucking clowns have sent out a video saying how they want to _hurt_ you, and don’t think I have forgotten how you feel about clowns. Now really isn’t a good time to focus on my issues.”

“I’d _really_ not like to think about the clowns right now,” Jon begged, shuddering at the reminder. “Your issues are much less frightening.”

“Promise you’ll still let me stay the weekend with you even if it’s awkward? Because I am _not_ leaving you alone with those fucking clowns on the loose,” Robb warned sternly.

“I promise,” he replied, knowing nothing would make him want to send Robb away even if he weren’t so terrified.

He sighed. “I figured if I told you I was gay, my feelings for you would come out as well, and I didn’t want to drive a wedge between us.”

Jon’s breath caught in his throat as he stared at Robb in shock. Surely he had heard that wrong. “Feelings for me…?”

Robb rolled his eyes. “Jon, I’ve been in love with you since high school. I don’t know how you missed it, really. Theon teased me about it mercilessly,” he said ruefully.

He blinked and continued to say nothing, despite Robb’s obvious discomfort at his silence. He didn’t know _what_ to say. How did you respond when the man you’ve been in love with forever tells you _he_ has been in love with _you_ forever?

“We’re both idiots,” he said finally, shaking his head with a smile. “How could we have both been in love with each other and neither of us said anything?”

Robb gave him a blank look before comprehension slowly dawned on his face. “You love me too?”

He bit his lip but nodded, suddenly feeling shy.

A look of wonder entered Robb’s blue eyes as he brought a hand up to cup Jon’s face. “Can I…?”

He gasped softly but nodded, melting into Robb as he brought their lips together in a gentle kiss. He ruined the mood, though, when a yawn forced its way out of his mouth and broke their kiss.

“You’re tired,” Robb said with a frown. “We should go to bed.”

Jon glanced nervously towards his bedroom before looking back at Robb. “Will you… sleep with me?” he asked. “I… don’t want to be alone.”

Robb rolled his eyes as he stood and pulled Jon to his feet. “You wouldn’t have had to spend _any_ time alone if you had _called_ me as soon as you saw the video,” he said, guiding Jon towards the bedroom and turning off all the lights in the apartment in the process. “We’re sticking together until the cops catch those fuckers.”

Jon certainly wasn’t going to argue with that. Besides, he realized with a start. If Robb were gay, he was _already_ a target for these psychotic clowns. He wasn’t going to let them hurt Robb anymore than Robb was going to let them hurt him.

If Jon thought that sleep wouldn’t come easy that night, he was wrong. Curled up next to Robb in his bed, it was easy to forget about clowns lurking outside in the dark. With Robb’s arms around him and the knowledge that the other man loved him, Jon had never felt safer.

End.

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote this because I wanted to post something and my drugged up and exhausted brain won't let me work on some of my more involved pieces. I hate being sick :(
> 
> Also, for those of you who care, I have started a tumblr to share updates on my writing process for my fics. It's blackrose2014-got.tumblr.com


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